Connecting device in a paint toning machine

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a connecting device in a paint toning machine for connecting a paste container to a toning paste supply hose of the toning machine. In order to maintain the tightness of the internal system of both the paste container and the paint toning machine when the paste container is being connected or disconnected, the connecting device comprises a first connector to be connected to the discharge aperture of the paste container and including a valve element, a second connector to be connected to the toning paste supply hose and including a spindle, and a connecting mount for receiving the first and the second connector, for supporting them against each other and for forcing the spindle of the second connector to open the valve element of the first connector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a connecting device in a paint toningmachine for connecting a paste container to a toning paste supply hoseof the toning machine.

The connecting device according to the invention is particularly wellsuited for use in a paint toning machine as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,174,474. This paint toning machine comprises a bag-like pastecontainer connected through hoses and a valve element to another toningpaste container in the machine. Due to this arrangement the bag-likepaste container can be a replaceable refill container. In the painttoning machine according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,474, the connectingdevice between the replaceable paste container and the paste containerthat is a fixed part of the machine is relatively complicated anddifficult to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a connecting device bywhich a toning paste container can be easily and quickly connected to atoning paste supply hose, but it can also be quickly disconnected whenrequired without the danger of toning paste leaking from the containerto the environment or air being allowed to enter the container or thesupply hose.

The above object can be achieved by means of a connecting deviceaccording to the invention, which is characterized in that it comprisesa first connector to be connected to a discharge aperture of the pastecontainer and containing a valve element, a second connector to beconnected to the toning paste supply hose and containing a spindle, anda connection mount for receiving the first and the second connector, forsupporting them against each other and for forcing the spindle of thesecond connector to open the valve element of the first connector.

When the paste container is of a type in which the discharge aperturecomprises a sealing film to be cut when the container is opened and acollar surrounding it, said collar provides a first connector for theconnecting device. In this case the connecting device according to theinvention is characterized in that it further comprises a secondconnector to be connected to the toning paste supply hose and includingan opening spindle for cutting said sealing film, and a connection mountfor receiving the first and the second connector, for supporting themagainst each other and for forcing the spindle of the second connectorto cut the sealing film of the first connector.

Preferably the second connector comprises a bellows-type compressiblebody for making the opening spindle push forward. The valve element inthe first connector is opened or the sealing film cut in such a way thatthe body of the second connector is compressed by means of theconnection mount, thereby making the opening spindle therein pushforward and forcing the valve element in the first connector to move toa position which opens the flow connection or to cut the sealing film.

Preferably the body of the second connector is spring-loaded to maintainthe body in the maximum length allowed by the opening spindle. Therebyit is further preferred that the opening spindle comprises a sealingsurface, which presses against the countersurface in the body of thesecond connector while said body is in the non-compressed position, andthereby closes the flow connection through the second connector.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following an embodiment of the connecting device according to thepresent invention will be described in more detail with reference to theaccompanying drawing, in which

FIG. 1 shows a first connector of the connecting device according to theinvention in partial cross-section,

FIG. 2 shows a second connector of the connecting device according tothe invention also in partial cross-section,

FIG. 3 shows a connection mount of the connecting device according tothe invention, having the second connector according to FIG. 2 fittedthereon,

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view showing the connection mount with thefirst and second connectors therein and the first connector in positionto be clamped down onto the second connector,

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of theconnection mount and first and second connectors of FIG. 4 showing therelative arrangement of the valve and spindle of the respectiveconnectors, and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation partially sectioned view of anotherembodiment according to the invention showing a modified paste containerand second connector which are adapted to be used in the connectionmount with the second connector capable of cutting the sealing film ofthe container discharge aperture.

DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a first connector of the connecting device according to theinvention, which is intended to be connected to the discharge aperture52 of the paste container 50. Typically the paste container to be usedwith the connecting device according to the invention is a disposable,bag-like and thus compressible paste container. It is closed with a capand possibly also with a film under the cap. When the cap has beenremoved, the first connector according to FIG. 1 is screwed with itscap-like part 11 in place of the cap of the paste container. In additionto said cap-like part 11, the first connector comprises a valve element2, which is loaded by means of a spring 8 in a position in which itcloses the flow channel running through the connector 1. Plate-likeparts 13 and 12 on both ends of the spindle thereby function as theactual closing elements, which have countersurfaces on the body 14around the valve element 2 and on a flange 16 attached to the bottom ofthe body 14. As the valve element 2 is moved inside the body 14 againstthe force of the spring 8, a discharge channel is opened for the toningpaste through the connector 1. Cutting edges 15 have also been formed onthe top surface of the valve plate 13 on the head of the valve element 2for cutting the possible sealing film on the paste container. If thereis such a sealing film on the paste container, the connection to thepaste container is not opened until the valve element 2 is moved to the"open" position.

The end of the first connector 1 which is opposite the cap-like part 11is provided with a flange 16, on the lower surface of which a sealingring 17 has been fitted in a ring-shaped groove near the valve plate 12.The sealing ring will seal the joint between the first and the secondconnector, as will be described later.

FIG. 2 shows a second connector of the connecting device according tothe invention in partial cross-section. This connector 3 comprises inits central portion a bellows-type compressible body 6 with flange-likeextensions 10 and 17 at the ends thereof. A coil spring 7 has beenfitted around the bellows-type body 6, said spring being pressed betweenthe flange-like parts 10 and 17 and stretching the bellows 6 to thelength allowed by a shaft 18 of the opening spindle 4, which shaft runsaxially in the centre of the bellows. The flange-like part 10 isintended to lie against the flange-like part 16 of the first connector,and the flange-like part 17 is intended to be attached by means ofthreading to the paste supply hose of the paint toning machine. The endof the shaft 18 is expanded to form the opening spindle 4, which in thenon-compressed position of the connector 3 supports its countersurface 9against the countersurface provided in the flange-like part 10, therebyclosing the flow channel that runs through the connector 3. A hex nut 19has been fitted centrally in the opening spindle 4 at the end of theshaft 18, for fastening the opening spindle 4 to the shaft 18 and forassembling the body 6 and the flange-like parts 10 and 17 to form thesecond connector 3.

FIG. 3 shows a connection mount of the connecting device according tothe invention, to which the first and the second connector are fittedwhen it is desired that the paste container is connected to the toningpaste supply hose in the toning machine. This connection mount issupported on the body of the paint toning machine, and has a fixedposition thereon. It comprises a rack part 20, on which the secondconnector 3 has been placed in FIG. 3. This second connector issupported on the rack part 20 at its flange 17. The connection mount 5further comprises a fork-like part 21, the height of which in relationto the rack part 20 can be varied by means of levers 22 and 23 in theconnection mount. The lever 22 is triangle-shaped and is jointed at onepoint to the body 24 of the connection mount 5 and at another point tothe lever 23. The lever 23 is at its other end Jointed to the lower end26 of the vertical shaft 25 which is attached to the fork-like part 21.When the lever 22 is pushed down at its third point, it forces by meansof the lever 23 the vertical shaft 25 to press down and thereby also thefork-like part 21 to come down towards the rack part 20.

When the connecting device is used, the first connector 1 is brought ontop of the second connector 3 in such a way that the body 14 of thefirst connector lies between the forks 21a and 21b of the fork-like part21, and the flange 16 of the lower part of the first connector remainsbelow the fork-like part 21 (FIGS. 4 and 5). Thus it is possible topress the first connector 1 downwards in the direction of the secondconnector 3 by means of the fork-like part 21. When this is done, theconic surfaces of the flange-like part 16 and the part 10 centre thefirst and the second connector in relation to one another, and an O-ring17 on the lower surface of the flange 16 seals the first and the secondconnector in relation to one another. Thereafter, as the downwardmovement of the fork-like part 21 continues, the bellows 6 is compressedagainst the force of the spring 7, the part 10 being detached from thespindle 4 and the valve plate 12 of the valve element 2 pressing againstthe spindle 4 and further up. As the spindle 4 is detached from the part10, a connection is opened through the second valve element, and thespindle 4, as its height remains unchanged, opens the valve element 2 ofthe connector 1, whereby also a connection through the first connectoris opened. Only after these connections are opened is the valve element2 in such a position that it can cut the possible sealing film on thetoning paste container.

If it is desired that the toning paste container is detached from thepaint toning machine, the above mentioned steps are repeated in theopposite order, whereby the lever 22 is moved upwards, causing the firstconnector 1 to move upwards, closing the valve element 2 in the firstconnector 1, and the part 10 in the second connector 3 pressing againstthe countersurface of the opening spindle 4, whereby also the connectionthrough the second connector 3 is closed. This enables airtight sealingof the paint toning machine system and the toning paste container priorto the airtight connection between the first and the second connectorachieved by means of the O-ring 17 is opened.

According to another embodiment of the invention, (FIG. 6) the firstconnector described above in FIG. 1 is replaced by forming a suitablecollar 54 on the aperture 52a of the paste container 50a and byproviding the aperture with a sealing film 56. Thereby the pastecontainer 50a can be connected directly to the second connector shown inFIGS. 2 and 3 and to the connection mount without using a firstconnector as shown in FIG. 1. The second connector shown in FIG. 2 mustthen be somewhat modified, which means in practice that the openingspindle 4 must be equipped with suitable cutting edges 58 for cuttingthe closing film 56 of the paste container and the upper surface of theflange part 10 must be equipped with a sealing surface which seals itagainst the collar of the discharge aperture of the paste container. Inaddition, the collar of the discharge aperture must be of the kind thatit can be gripped with a fork part 21 as shown in FIG. 3 to force thecollar tightly against the second connector 3. One defect of this secondembodiment compared with the first embodiment is that the pastecontainer cannot be detached from the paint toning machine before thecontainer is completely empty, if leaking of the paste to theenvironment is to be prevented. This is because the paste container isplaced in the machine with its aperture downwards and is intended to beemptied gravitationally.

In the above the connecting device according to the invention isdescribed by way of two exemplary embodiments only, and it is to beunderstood that a connecting device according to the invention could berealized in a different way than in the example described withoutdeparting from the scope defined by the attached claims.

I claim:
 1. A connecting device in a paint toning machine for connectinga paste container to a toning paste supply hose of the toning machine,comprisinga first connector to be connected to a discharge aperture ofthe paste container and containing a valve element, a second connectorto be connected to the toning paste supply hose and containing aspindle, and a connection mount for receiving the first and the secondconnector, for supporting them against each other and for forcing thespindle of the second connector to open the valve element of the firstconnector.
 2. A connecting device according to claim 1, wherein thesecond connector comprises a bellows-type compressible body for makingthe opening spindle push forward.
 3. A connecting device according toclaim 2, wherein the body of the second connector is spring-loaded tomaintain the body in the maximum length allowed by the opening spindle.4. A connecting device according to claim 3, wherein the secondconnector body includes a countersurface and the opening spindlecomprises a sealing surface which presses against the countersurface inthe body of the second connector while said body is in thenon-compressed position and thereby closes the flow connection throughthe second connector.
 5. A connecting device according to claim 1,wherein the valve element of the first connector in its closed position.6. A connecting device in a paint toning machine for connecting a pastecontainer to a toning paste supply hose of the toning machine, adischarge aperture of the paste container comprising a sealing film tobe cut when the container is opened and a collar surrounding it, saidcollar providing a first connector for the connecting device,comprisinga second connector to be connected to the toning paste supplyhose and including an opening spindle for cutting said sealing film, anda connection mount for receiving the first and the second connector, forsupporting them against each other and for forcing the spindle of thesecond connector to cut the sealing film of the discharge aperture ofthe paste container.
 7. A connecting device according to claim 2,wherein the second connector comprises a bellows-type compressible bodyfor making the opening spindle push forward.
 8. A connecting deviceaccording to claim 7, wherein the body of the second connector isspring-loaded to maintain the body in the maximum length allowed by theopening spindle.
 9. A connecting device according to claim 8, whereinthe second connector body includes a countersurface and the openingspindle comprises a sealing surface which presses against thecountersurface in the body of the second connector while said body is inthe non-compressed position and thereby closes the flow connectionthrough the second connector.